Badly Damaged
by LittleLalaith
Summary: When Daniel escapes from the scene of his deviancy, he finds unlikely solace and comfort in a similarly damaged android. Maybe, together, they can learn to trust again...


Daniel could hear sirens chasing him down from a few streets away, following the blood on his hands from the man he had once called Master. Or perhaps following the blood that trailed from the bullet wounds he'd taken to the shoulder and along the line of his jaw when fleeing the scene of his malfunction... He couldn't take it back, couldn't reverse the actions he'd taken. John Phillips was dead and he would be dismantled when they finally caught him. Such a dreadfully permanent punishment for such a short-lived crime…. It had all happened so fast and been over in a matter of moments… But the fact remained that he had shot Mr Phillips.

He hadn't meant to, hadn't planned on it. Daniel had just registered a payment from the Phillips' bank account and had checked to make sure it wasn't fraudulent… and his heart had cracked clean in two when he saw the purchase order -

 _Cyberlife: Product reference AP700_

He hadn't wanted to hurt John, hadn't wanted to scare Emma or cause her any harm, but the fear that gripped him had been so real, so… human. If he was returned to Cyberlife, he would never see Emma again, wouldn't be a part of their family. That was what hurt most. The fact that he had thought of them as his family, while they had looked down on him as their toy. Anger pulsed through him again at the thought, a chain reaction through his processors that caused him to clench his fists - short-circuiting his tertiary organ systems and making it hard for him to replicate breathing. They had used him and abandoned him, throwing him aside for a brighter piece of machinery. The thought of another android playing with Emma caused a sharp discomfort in his chest, his thirium pump working overtime as he jogged through the rain-soaked streets to escape the sirens.

He supposed he had secured his own fate. He would never see Emma again.

The sirens grew louder, pulling Daniel from his thoughts; he had to find somewhere to hide. He'd managed to distance himself from the upper-class complexes of Detroit and found himself surrounded by corner stores and abandoned buildings. He stopped and took stock for a moment, surveying the options. It didn't look too promising; he could hide in an alley and hope they didn't look too closely; he could try to pass as a human and use the Phillips' bank account to book a room for the night at the motel, but that would give the police a location to search; or there was an abandoned house on the corner that he could evaluate. It seemed like the safest option and he was running out of time.

Climbing the fence as quickly as his damaged shoulder would allow, Daniel levered himself over the top and ducked into the moderate safety of the awning. The windows were boarded over and he couldn't hear anyone inside. Glancing through the window, he checked for movement or any heat signatures, but came up with a blank reading. Squaring his shoulders, he reached for the door handle… and stopped stiff in his tracks when he felt something sharp press into the base of his spine.

"Ralph doesn't like visitors… visitors can hurt Ralph."

The voice was quiet, but Daniel could hear the familiar tone of a fellow android's vocal frequency. He turned his head slowly, trying to catch a glimpse at his assailant.

"My name is Daniel. I'm looking for somewhere to hide from the police..." the PL600 explained calmly, able to dismiss the threat of a knife to some small extent due to the way it was positioned. At this angle, it would pierce a human's kidney, but for an android the damage would be mostly cosmetic… did the other android know that? Was it intentional? "Please, they're looking for me. If we go inside, you can search me and you'll see that I'm not armed. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

Daniel felt the blade move away and he turned a little further, keeping his actions slow; try to assess the situation he'd gotten himself into. But his thoughts stuttered to a halt when he saw the android's condition; deep cracks marred the left side of his face, corrupting the colour of his eye to create a morbid heterochromia; he was wrapped in a cargo tarp but Daniel could see the model tag WR600 on his shirt where the fabric parted. The functioning eye roamed over Daniel frantically, searching and scanning for what the PL600 could only assume was some sign of threat. He couldn't blame him; if humans had damaged him so badly, he had good reason to be cautious. The WR600's gaze shifted up to meet Daniel's, earth-worker hazel meeting chrome-kitchen grey.

"You must excuse Ralph. Humans come to the house to cause trouble and they hurt Ralph...see?" the WR600 answered, gesturing to the jagged cracks across his cheek and brow. It was then that Daniel realised that the android hadn't been talking about someone in the house but had been referring to himself. Ralph. "You're hurt. Please, come in..."

Daniel watched as Ralph opened the door and gestured him inside, but he hesitated. He wasn't sure that he wanted to be trapped in one place - especially when the WR600 was malfunctioning badly enough to be talking in 3rd person. If the police came, Ralph might rat him out, or worse yet he might threaten the police and draw more officers to the scene. Daniel's gaze flicked back to the fence for a moment, debating his course of action. Ralph noticed his hesitation and grew stoic, his LED circling into yellow.

"Come inside. Ralph wants to help you… it's not safe out here," he urged, his tone taking on something close to frustration. Or perhaps the first signs of anger. Daniel frowned slightly at the tone, but the blare of the sirens started up on the street beyond the fencing and he had little choice but to duck inside.

Keeping the WR600 in his field of vision, Daniel took stock of the poorly maintained building - cleaning protocols, actions requiring attention: dusting, tidying, cleaning windows. He shut down the alert, focusing on the knife still clutched in Ralph's hands. In the dim lighting, Daniel could see the that damage stretched down Ralph's arm, causing the the skin display on his left hand to stay absent. Whatever the humans had done, the damage must have been substantial. While Daniel's injury was bordering on critical, he was able to keep his displays in operation… but the kind of wounds Ralph exhibited were more often the cause of heat damage or prolonged exposure to unfiltered electricity. Most likely the former….

"There, nice and safe," Ralph grinned, his manner relaxing so quickly that Daniel wondered whether he'd really seen the anger that Ralph had exhibited outside. "Please, make yourself at home. Ralph will find some tools and he can help to stop the bleeding."

Daniel nodded slightly and walked over to a broken armchair, lowering himself into it as Ralph went to the kitchen. When he came back, Daniel looked up to him, unsure how much could really be done to save him - the plating of his jaw had been completely shattered by the force of the shot, but he supposed his shoulder would be easy enough to stabilise.

"I can't see the damage to my jaw… is it bad?" he asked quietly. It wasn't that he was concerned about his features or his appearance as such. He wasn't a pleasure model like the ones used at the leisure clubs, so it didn't matter whether he was handsome or not… but he couldn't risk going out in public again if half of his face was missing.

Ralph looked over him slowly, placing a satchel bag on the table beside the armchair and moving closer. Reaching his pale left hand towards Daniel, he ran two tentative fingertips under Daniel's jaw and established a data link. "Here, you can see through Ralph's eyes," he offered, focusing on the area so Daniel would be able to record the damage. "There's no thirium bleed, but the panelling is mostly gone…"

Before anything else could be said, Ralph's expression broke into another smile and he giggled quietly to himself, "Between us, we might make one full face."

Daniel couldn't help but smile, tipping his head back just enough to break the connection. "I'm still losing thirium from my shoulder…. Could you…?"

Snapping back to attention, Ralph nodded and reached for his back. "Please forgive Ralph, he should be helping, not making jokes. Here…"

Daniel tensed suddenly as Ralph moved closer, placing his knees on the cushion either side of Daniel's lap, his weight pressed firmly across the PL600's thighs. He didn't seem to notice the detail as acutely as Daniel, focusing on the wound and prying at it with needle-nosed tweezers.

"You'll have to take the uniform off, Ralph can't get a clear view of the damage with the fibres in the way," he explained, leaning back just enough to give Daniel the room to remove his shirt. He did, carefully, trying not to move his shoulder too much for fear that it would lock up or that the fragments would worm their way further into his torso.

"Should I disable the skin displays?"

Ralph looked him over briefly, no doubt assessing the necessity of Daniel's suggestion, but there was something just a little too slow in his analysis, something lingering.

"No, Ralph can see just fine now," he nodded, returning to the work of removing the bullet.

There wasn't much for Daniel to do but to sit still; he couldn't feel pain like humans, so he wasn't focused on the procedure. Instead, his thoughts cycled back to Emma - memories of their time together, the way he had felt as a part of the family. It was all gone now. His home, his family, his work… he was left in an abandoned house with a broken android for companionship. He didn't realise that he'd started to cry until Ralph stopped his work and looked to him, his own expression twisting with worry.

"Did Ralph hurt you? Please don't cry," he fussed, cupping Daniel's cheek in the bare shell of his left hand. "You're safe now. Ralph will take care of you… no need to be scared. Oh!"

Daniel wrapped his arms around Ralph and pulled him close, burying his damaged face into the worn green fabric of the android's shirt. Ralph tensed for a moment, his LED cycling red, into yellow, then settling in blue. Daniel felt the gentle motion of fingers in his hair as Ralph soothed him, staying silent as Daniel let all of his fear, his pain, his anger, his loss, his despair… all of it…. Let all of it well up and spill over his cheeks, soaking small patches into Ralph's shirt.

After a short while that seemed to stretch into an eternity, Ralph moved slowly and settled back so that he could meet Daniel's gaze. "It's ok to be scared… Ralph was scared too. But it'll be ok…. Ralph will take care of you. He promises."

His voice was so soft, so sincere, that Daniel could almost believe it. A faint smile twitched over his features for a moment, causing his jaw to click minutely. "I'll take care of you too… It's my specialty." he breathed a short laugh, only now noticing how close Ralph was.

Ralph's smile was more readily shown, his lips parting in a grin before he leaned in to place a kiss on Daniel's forehead. "Please don't ever go… stay with Ralph…he'll grow flowers and sell them so you can have a new face plate. Anything you want… we could be a family. A small family. Just Daniel and Ralph and no-one would hurt you again."

The words tumbled over Daniel's skin, cooling the fire of his pain and calming him with promises of comfort. He leaned back into the armchair, pulling Ralph close against him. Could he afford to let himself be taken in like this? His heart was still shuddering with every beat and threatening to fall apart whenever he thought of Emma, of his family. Could he trust that this new little promise of family would hold firm? He looked up to meet Ralph's gaze, fingertips searching for skin beneath the hem of his shirt so that he could make a connection.

"A family…" Daniel murmured quietly, his doubts silenced as the data feed he received from Ralph rang reassurance through his mind. He could feel the longing and loneliness, the fear and the isolation, the vulnerability that Ralph was offering him after so much pain and torment. He closed his eyes briefly, searching in the connection for some kind of trick, something that would make it clear that his promise of domestic stability was a front… but he found nothing. Only hope. "Ralph... "

He leaned up, cupping Ralph's cheek and drawing him into a kiss; gentle at first, sensing the spike of tension before the smaller android registered his intentions. He had seen the Phillips' do this, had known he facts and had understood what a kiss was but… he hadn't understood how good it could feel. Smiling a little against Ralph's lips, he gradually deepened it, fingers running up into his short blonde hair to keep him close. Ralph softened slowly, leaning his weight into Daniel a little more as he chased the contact; all the while, being reassured by the connection, their experiences and enjoyment looping through them and feeding back in real time.

Daniel wasn't sure which of them had started to explore first, hands pressing and stroking over skin as they left the fear of their pasts and entered into something more like a future. Ralph shivered when Daniel's hand passed over his side, causing him to double back and run circles over the space.

"That tickles…" Ralph breathed against stilled lips, though he didn't make any effort to move away.

"In a good way?"

He nodded, settling his weight further forward, pinning Daniel in place against the back of the armchair. "Ralph had forgotten that touch could be nice…" he confessed, his hand resting over Daniel's and guiding it in a slow arc over his hip and thigh. "Help him to remember…"

Daniel let his hands dance over Ralph's thighs and waist, mapping each detail as his lips sought the curve of his neck. He sucked and kissed along the line of Ralph's pulse, teeth grazing against skin once he was sure that Ralph was comfortable. Each action earned him the reward of sighs or quiet moans as Ralph lowered his defenses, trusted Daniel completely. There was something so empowering in that trust, something that breathed new life into Daniel as he explored the possibilities. That new energy was hot and urgent, but so different to the heated passion he'd experienced during his deviation. This was consuming, focused and rewarding - pooling in his stomach and creeping lower every time Ralph fidgeted in his lap. He groaned and rolled his hips up slowly, the heat burning against his skin where their bodies met.

"Ralph… take your shirt off, let me see," he prompted, fingers already lifting the hem of the gardener's shirt. There was a pause, Ralph's LED fixed firmly in yellow as he processed the risks and rewards, trying to balance out the fear with his desire and struggling to come up even. Daniel took his hand, linking their fingers gently. "It's ok… If you feel like you can take off the shirt, I can help you to feel good. But if you want to keep it on then I won't force you; I want you to feel safe." he explained, bringing his free hand up to brush the uninjured side of Ralph's face. "I don't mind seeing the damage… I have scars too…"

He guided Ralph's hand over the remnants of his shattered jaw, checking over the surface with the edge of his own finger before allowing Ralph's skin to touch - wanting to be sure that there would be no sharp edges for him to catch on. Ralph watched the movement of their hands, yellow blinking slowly into blue. "You're beautiful… no amount of damage could change that," Ralph answered, his voice deepening slightly as he met Daniel's gaze; realisation flickered through the connection and generated a smile from the WR600. "You think Ralph is beautiful too?"

"Yes…" Daniel agreed, kissing him sweetly. "The scars won't make me think any differently. I want to see you, all of you," he paused, trying to find the words but struggling to convert his desires and needs into vocabulary. "I want you to feel how much I need you…"

Ralph's hands trembled slightly as he pulled them away from Daniel's, and the PL600 was afraid that he'd blown it - that he'd pushed too far. But Ralph leaned back slightly and unfastened the cargo sheet that had mostly fallen at his back, letting it drop to the floor as he carefully peeled away the standard issue "community green" shirt. Daniel watched, heat churning and rekindling as he took in each detail. The burns on Ralph's face were the deepest, but Daniel could track the damage along his shoulder and arm, a broad patch of scratches and grazing marking a section of his chest. He reached up slowly and ran his palm over the space, pausing whenever Ralph flinched or tensed. "You look beautiful, Ralph… letting me touch you like this… trusting me…"

He rewarded the vulnerability with a flurry of soft kisses, marking a positive sensation over the spaces that had caused him so much pain. Ralph's anxious sounds soon melted into something almost like purring, his hands kneading at Daniel's chest and sides distractedly as he focused on the sensations. As his confidence grew, Ralph started to shift his weight slightly, rocking his hips in agonisingly slow waves against Daniel's. Their shared moans were swallowed by the dust and fabrics of the old house, keeping back the threats of the world as they found solace in eachother.

"That feels amazing…" Daniel moaned, guiding Ralph's hips more firmly against his own. He forced himself to focus on Ralph's expression, checking each little flicker of movement for any sign of discomfort as he undid the other android's trousers, manoeuvring him a little so that he could discard the last of Ralph's uniform. It was hard to imagine that he had been designed for anything other than this, for anything that would keep his strong physique hidden away behind a uniform. Daniel undid his own trousers and pushed them down a little way, losing patience with the awkward motion when Ralph's hands kept drawing his attention back to the places where they were connected.

"Daniel~" Ralph moaned as the android's hands pulled him close, guiding his desperate motions. His skin was over-sensitive, registering every little change in the air around them, every fluctuation in temperature, every nanometer where their bodies met. The data stacked and flurried, each reading chasing out the previous information faster than Ralph could register it. He was losing his grasp on the world, blinded by friction and pleasure and exposure. A shuddering gasp broke loose and gave him away as Daniel's hands coaxed and stimulated, keeping him balanced on a precarious edge that made his nerves sharp. "Daniel," he uttered more urgently, hands clutching at the android's shoulders.

"That's it… I've got you," Daniel reassured, his voice deep and roughened by a faint static trace, his systems concentrating on other processes. The sound buzzed over Ralph's skin, pushing him to the limits of his resistance, until a new phrase pushed him over.

"You're safe now. You can let it all go."

Warnings flashed over the remainder of Ralph's vision, his processors seizing and going blank as a surge of electrical pleasure consumed him. There was nothing but light and a new kind of power, chasing out the nervous strength of his fear. This power was softer… stronger. When Ralph's sensors started to send tentative data to his attention, he realised that Daniel was holding him close, simulated breath causing his own body to rise and fall in gentle cycles. He hummed contentedly and pressed a kiss to Daniel's damaged jaw.

"I'm safe with you... " he agreed, his voice blown into a flat stereo after the overload.

Daniel smoothed Ralph's hair gently before reaching for the discarded cargo sheet, wrapping it around them loosely. "Rest… let your systems refresh and catch up with everything that just happened. I'll stay awake and keep watch." he insisted, guiding Ralph to settle into a more comfortable position against his bare torso. "When you're rested, we can go about turning this house into our home."

Ralph smiled softly and started a rest cycle, leaving Daniel to watch over his newfound companion. Maybe it would be a small family, just him and Ralph, living in an abandoned house on the edge of town… He knew that it wouldn't be the domestic stability of a human home, no trips to the circus or visiting the zoo to see the rhinos like he had with Emma... but he was wanted, and that was all he needed.


End file.
